The Ordeal of the Order
"The Ordeal of the Order" is a story based on the New Jedi Trials group on TheForce.Net's Jedi Council Forums. It follows the journey of the members as they try and protect their Temple and interests from a sinister enemy. Each Order member in the story is based on a real-life member of the NJT, but this connection is loose and only pertains to choice of name, gender and rank in the Order. “No, this is what I believe to be right, and I’m going to do what I feel is right, even if it ends up being the death of me. I know that this may sound a little insane, but Master Brutus has a point; we must play by the rules of the enemy if we are to be victorious. Do you want to lay down like dogs at the feet of its master, subjected to anything that the higher power might do to you? Do you want to allow our Temple, our home, to be destroyed because we were too afraid to take action? I for one do not, and I am prepared to do whatever it takes to see that these walls will live another day, and another day after that, and yet another day. I am not willing to sit around and do nothing; if we must fight, I am prepared to give the enemy all he can handle. This is not just for me; I am doing this for all of us, because I believe that I can make a difference. I just hope that you all see what I see and will make a difference as well.” - Jedi Master Dil Finwerk, in a speech to the members of the New Jedi Trials in response to Council Member Brutus Crantilla's suggestion of meeting the enemy. Plot The New Jedi Trials is a peaceful group of universal protectors who try their best to mirror the Jedi Orders of old. At the beginning of the story, a Padawan promotion ceremony is going to take place later in the day, and Master Brutus' realization that someone has been in his room, destroying his things and making a general mess. His protocol droid T-87 says that three padawans, Shap Cuvert, Jaden Von Klyse and Serafina Tinaste are at fault. Brutus is suspicious, because the Council Member/Grand Master dormitory level has an advanced security system on it to keep Padawans out without permission to enter. Later on, the ceremony takes place, and Serafine Tinaste is pronounced a Jedi Knight. Brutus asks Serafine if she and her friends messed up his room, looking to clear up who committed the act. The three Padawans deny any involvement, and then T-87 enters the scene carrying a bomb. The bomb explodes, destroying the protocol droid and leaving many Jedi wounded. A new enemy appears on a small holoprojector to announce that he wants the Core of Knowledge, or else he will attack the NJT's Temple in two days time. Personnel of the NJT In Order of Rank #Malloren Bruse, Female, Grand Master, Human, 29 #Kai Koon, Male, Council Member, Kel Dor, 36 #Brutus Crantilla, Male, Council Member, Human, 31 #Dil Finwerk, Male, Master, Nautolan, 27 #Zell Vergus, Male, Master, Ishi Tib, 31 #Drake Dankari, Male, Knight, Human, 26 #Jen Hywitz, Female, Knight, Human, 25 #Fiona Tud, Female, Knight, Togruta, 26 #Renora Ta'a, Female, Knight, Mon Calamari, 27 #Blufus "Blu" Bajarack, Knight, Human, 27 #Jaxter Dukle, Male, Padawan, Human, 14 #Aracane La'Ker, Female, Padawan, Twi-lek, 17 #Jaden Von Klyse, Female, Padawan, Human, 16 #Serafine "Sera" Tinaste, Female, Padawan, Human, 18 #Zander Guwlen, Male, Padawan, Human, 15 #Shap Cuvert, Male, Padawan, Twi'lek, 13 Behind the Scenes I originally started to write this story in June of 2009 as a far-fetched idea to give the NJT something to be proud of outside of the main thread in the Star Wars Community forum. The project picked up steam when I asked every member of the Trials for a name that they preferred, although I still ended up having to add a few names in for those who didn't get back to me. After finalizing my list, I started into the first chapter, which gives readers the insight on Kai Koon, the Kel Dor Council Member, and a conversation with Malloren Bruse, the Grand Master of the Order. I originally intended for the Padawan promotion to be on the same exact day as this first chapter, so that the ceremony would occur only hours after the discussion between Koon and Bruse in the training room. However, as I added a second chapter, I realized that I needed to make the promotion a day after the opening chapter so that I could introduce Brutus Crantilla as well as a major plot point in the ransacking of his room. T-87 was a perfect fit in my mind for a traitor, so I tried to make the droid have some characteristics of C-3PO in terms of voice, yet not be 100% loyal to Brutus like 3PO is. So, while Anthony Daniels' original character was a basis for mine, I made a few tweaks to separate the two from each other and distinguish how a protocol droid could secretly be evil. Category:Fan Fiction